Baked Beans

I make these in a crock pot and they are always a crowd pleaser! (The extra bonus is that they are super easy!) This is a vegetarian adaption of a recipe from my aunt. The original recipe calls for a pound of sausage (fried and drained) and a can of pork and beans instead of the vegetarian baked beans.

Ingredients:
1 can lima beans (drained)
1 can French-style green beans (drained)
1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can vegetarian baked beans (NOT drained)
1 can chili beans (NOT drained)**
1/2 cup hot BBQ sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 can of condensed tomato soup

Directions:
Put all of the ingredients in the crock pot and cook for at least a couple of hours.

** I had a hard time tracking down the chili beans the first time I made this. I eventually found them by all the baked beans.

Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Ingredients
1 store bought oreo crust
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 (5 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup chocolate fudge sauce

Directions

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into crust. Drizzle chocolate topping over pie and freeze for 4 hours or until firm. Keep in freezer until ready to serve, and return leftovers to the freezer as well.

From Allrecipes.

Spinach and Orzo Salad

Continuing on my theme of little effort and little heat, we had a delicious (and easy!) orzo salad which has now become a big hit at my house.



Spinach and Orzo Salad

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package uncooked orzo pasta
1 (10 ounce) package baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in spinach, feta, onion, pine nuts, basil and white pepper. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Note: This makes a ton, but the leftovers keep really well.

Zucchini Stuffed with Feta, Dill, and Pinenuts

I'm very late in posting the recipes from my July dinner, but want to get these up before Molly's feast tomorrow.

I hosted dinner on an incredibly hot summer week where I was extremely busy at work, so I was looking for a dinner that was relatively simple and required minimal use of the stove. We had hummus and Emily's delicious htpiti for appetizers. My neighbor Judy's garden was overflowing with zucchini (and dill!), so the main dish was stuffed zucchini along with an orzo salad and tomatoes with mozzarella. For dessert we had a frozen peanut butter cheesecake.



Zucchini Stuffed with Feta, Dill, and Pine Nuts

4 1/2-pound zucchini, scrubbed
2 onions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound Feta cheese, crumbled
3 tablespoons minced fresh dill
half a cup of toasted pine nuts

Trim and discard the stem ends from 2 of the zucchini, halve the 2 zucchini lengthwise, and with a melon-ball cutter (I used a spoon and it was much easier than I expected) scoop out the flesh, reserving it and leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Arrange the shells, cut sides up, on a steamer rack set over simmering water and steam them, covered, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they are just tender. Invert the shells on paper towels to drain.

Toast the pine nuts in a little of olive oil with a bit of salt. When the pine nuts are nicely browned, remove from heat drain and set aside.

Cut the remaining 2 zucchini crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a non-stick skillet cook the onions in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until they are softened, add the reserved flesh, chopped, and the zucchini slices, and sauté the mixture over moderately high heat, stirring, until it is golden. In a food processor blend the mixture with the Feta until the zucchini slices are chopped coarse and stir in the dill. Divide the filling among the 4 zucchini shells, arrange the stuffed zucchini in an oiled flameproof baking dish, and broil them under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 3 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and deep golden.

Note from Rebecca: I doubled this recipe in a not completely accurate way so that I would have 6 zucchinis, so I ended up with a lot of extra filling and it was delicious on its own.

From Epicurious.

Taste of Wheaton

It's my favorite time of year in Wheaton (the ghetto of silver spring).
http://www.wheatonmd.org/events/item/taste-of-wheaton

This Sunday from 11-5 with food samples from $1-5. If you are not aware, Wheaton has a ton of great local ethenic restaurants and they all participate in this event.

It's right by the metro and parking is available for free at either the country garage or the metro garage (that's by the mall).

Food WTF: Swai

Swai came up on my radar recently when a recipe for swai ceviche appeared on A Spicy Perspective. It is apparently an Asian cousin of the catfish, native to Vietnam. However, it doesn't have that lake-bottom flavor that catfish can sometimes have... rather, it has a mild, slightly sweet flavor not entirely unlike tilapia. And like tilapia (which can be sort of bland, IMO), it requires a deft hand in seasoning -- too little, and the swai will be boring; too much, and you will overwhelm it. And at about $3.99 a pound, it is also a screaming bargain. As Dave and I try to eat healthier and incorporate more fish into our diets, I see myself adding swai into our regular rotation.

For more discussion about swai, see:

What the Heck is Swai? -- Consumer Reports, Jan. 30, 2009
Tried fried swai, liked it -- From Scratch blog, August 11, 2009
A fish called swai -- new fish to me -- Chowhound.com, January 11, 2010

A Moveable Fiesta

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, my friend Jill and I attended a Mexican cooking class last weekend hosted at Ceiba in downtown D.C. It was two hours of learning, drinking, eating, and more drinking... a great way to spend lunch!

The main course of our meal blew my mind -- it was a red snapper baked Oaxacan style in an almond-chipotle cream sauce, served with arroz verde (green rice) and a crunchy, tangy radish salsita. Of all the recipes we got from the day, these were the ones I would be sure to try at home!

Our local grocery stores in Northern Virginia have a great selection of ingredients for Mexican cuisine, my favorite being the Shoppers Food Warehouse at the Seven Corners Shopping Center in Falls Church -- their ethnic food section is larger than some entire markets, and their prices are very reasonable. There you can find the Mexican crema and chipotles in adobo needed to make the sauce for the fish, as well as the poblano peppers for the arroz verde. Sadly, they didn't have red snapper when I went yesterday, so I bought some swai fillets instead and was pleased with the results.

This is a great meal for entertaining, as the arroz verde and the almond and chipotle sauce can be made in advance, and the salsita is a snap. Together, they are a whole lot of flavor for fairly little effort.

Baked Red Snapper with Almond and Chipotle Sauce

Ingredients:

(8) 4-6 oz. red snapper or sea bass fillets
4 T. lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 T. Kosher or sea salt
1 c. Mexican style cream, creme fraiche, or heavy cream
1/2 c. almonds, blanched or slivered
1 T. Mexican Manchego, Parmigiano Reggiano, or Romano cheese, grated
1 T. chipotle peppers with adobo sauce
1 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse red snapper fillets under a thin stream of cold water, drain, and pat dry. Place in a container and drizzle with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

2. In a blender, blend the Mexican cream, almonds, cheese, salt, and chipotles until fully combined; set aside. You may refrigerate the sauce for up to a week.

3. Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter the bottom of a baking dish and place the red snapper fillets on top. Cover each fillet with 1-2 heaping tablespoons of the chipotle almond cream.

4. Bake for 15-18 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Garnish with toasted slivered almonds and serve.


Arroz Verde

Ingredients:

2 c. long or extra-long grain white rice
5 Poblano chiles (seeds and veins removed), cut into pieces
1/2 c. cilantro leaves
1/2 c. water
3 T. safflower or corn oil
4 T. white onion, finely chopped
2.5 c. chicken stock (or to measure -- and of course vegetable stock can be substituted)
1 T. lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 T. Kosher or sea salt

Directions:

1. Parboil the rice: place in a bowl and cover with very hot water; let soak for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again thoroughly.

2. Place the Poblano chiles in a blender with the cilantro leaves and water, and puree until smooth. Pass this through a fine colander and reserve in a measuring cup. Measure how much Poblano liquid you have, as you will need to use enough chicken stock to amount to 4 total cups of liquid. Save that pulp, though, because you will throw it back into the rice later.

3. Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the rice over high heat. Stir softly for 1-2 minutes. Add onion and stir. Saute until rice changes color to milky white, 4-5 minutes.

4. Add Poblano liquid (and pulp) and let it cook and season for 4-5 minutes, until the green color has darkened and the liquid has thickened and is almost absorbed.

5. Add in chicken stock, lime juice, and salt, and stir. When the liquid comes to a rapid boil, cover the pot, lower heat to low and continue cooking for about another 20 minutes, or until rice is cooked through and liquid has been mostly absorbed. If rice diesn't seem soft and cooked through, add a bit more chicken stock or water and let cook for another 5 minutes or so.

6. Turn heat off and let sit covered for another 5-10 minutes. FLuff with a fork and serve.

Green rice can be made ahead and reheated later the same day. Before reheating, add 1 tablespoon of water and heat covered over the lowest possible heat.

Once it has cooled down, it can be kept in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.


Crunchy Radish Salsita

Ingredients:

8-10 radishes
2 T. lime juice, freshly squeezed (or to taste)
1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt (or to taste)
1 T. cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 serrano chile (seeding is optional), finely chopped
4 T. safflower or corn oil

Directions:
1. Rinse the radishes, cut them in half lengthwise, and slice them thin. (I just snip off the root and run them whole over my mandoline.) Set them aside.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the lime juice, salt, cilantro, and Serrano chile. Slowly whisk in the oil.

3. Pour mixture over radishes, mix, and let macerate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

The salsita may be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours.
Fresh, easy, yummy!